Concentrator deck



y oct. 25, w27.,

CONGENTRATOR DECK Filed Aug. 1o. 1926 3 Sheets-.Sheet l Y Mm E T N N .o Ew@ .T V T N A /M www@ a ww ocr. 25, `1` 927.

A. H. sTEjBB'lNs CONCENTRATOR DECK Filed Aug. l0, 1.926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

ATTORNEY 06f., 2, w27., f Lme A. H. STEBBENS CONCENTRATOR DECK Filed Aug. 10, 192e 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 25, 1927.

UNITED STATES .ALBERT H. STEBBINS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIF(.URFATIA.

CONCENTRATOR DECK.

Application ined August 1o, 192e. serial No. 128,376.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of coneentrator decks.

Concentrator decks as constructed heretofore to treat ores or other comminuted materials in the dry state, are usually provided with a deck surface that is supported at a transverse inclination, and riiies extending diagonally over the deck surface serve to direct the concentrates toward the upper side of the deck while the tailings flow laterally orer the riflies toward the lower side of the deck. f

The travel of the tailings transversely of the deck is etlected by the lateral inclination of the deck surface. and by the strength of the air currents passing upwardly through apertures in the deck surface, but. difficulty has been experienced heretofore in promoting the. desired transverse. tlow of the tailings without employing either a greater transverse inclination ol' theI deck, or a greater volume of air than is desired to ellect the stratification of the materials. lt has therefore been necessary heretofore to carefully adjust the transverse inclination of the deck and the strength of air currents employed to accommodate the size of the materials being treated, and the range in i .size of the. materials that could be satisfactorily treated upon a deck having a par ticular adjustment has been quite limited.

The present invention is therefore directed to a novel deck construction which is adapted to treat materials that may vary in size throughout. a wide range and which also requires less attention on the part of the operator, and gives better results than the concentrator decks employed heretofore.

One important feature of the present invention resides in a concentrator deck that is supported at a transverse inclination, as is usual, but which diders from the decks provided heretofore in that a pan or basin isfformed adjacent the lower side of the deck to receive and confine the tailings for a suflicient length of` time to cause the fine concentrates contained in the-tailings to work down under the tailings to the deck surface, whereupon they are directed out from under the mass of tailings toward the upper side of the deck by the rifilres.

'l'he pan or basin feature just mentioned makes it unnecessary to vary the transverse inclination of the deck to accommodate different'size materials; this feature is therefore well. adapted for use in either a single deck, or in a twin deck construction in which the deck surface is built into the deck as a rigid, non-adjustable structure. i

Another feature of the invention therefore resides in a twin-deck construction consisting of a single supporting frame provided with a pair of oppositely inclined deck surfaces that are formed rigidly with the supcombination of parts in additionv to the` above will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which .illustrate good practical forms of the invention,

ln the drawingsr- Fig. l is a sidevelevation of a table co'ncentrator provided with a deck constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. :fis a top plan view of the deck shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale is a sectional view taken on vthe line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3? is a view similar to Fig. 3, but shows a modilication wherein the upward bend imparted to a portion of the deck in Fic. 3 is omitted.

ig. 4 is a top plan View of a concentrator deck having twin deck surfaces with the concentrate walls lying adjacent each other;

Fig. 5 is a coneentrator deck provided with twin deck surfaces wherein the concentrate walls are disposed at the oppositey sides of the deck; V y

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken .on the line ,6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 on an enlarged scale is a plan View of a fragmentary portion of the deck shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 vis a sectional view taken on the line 9--9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a plan View somewhat similar to Fig. 8, the tailing discharge gate being omitted; and

Fig. 1l is a sectional line ll--ll of Fig. 10.

The pan or basin construction which constitutes an important feature of the present invention may be employed in connection view taken on the The de'ck surface as is usual is supported ata transverse' inclination and to this end' in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 andA y3 the lower side of the deck is secured tothe deck .support1n hinges 11, and t e upperor concentrate side of the deck issupported in spaced relation to the carriage by the threaded posts 12 having the adjustable nuts 13 for lvarying the transverse -mclination of the deck. This construction however, whereby the transverseinclination of the deck may be varied,

is not essential in the present construction since 1t 1s unnecessary to vary this transverse inclination to treat different size materials.

Any suitable means might be provided for supporting the deck for vibratory movement inthe direction of its length, and in the construction shown 4in Fig. l the carriage 10 is supported by they concentrator frame consisting of the uprights 14, to which the 1ongitudina-ll extending side. rails 15 are secured, an v upon the deck supporting frame thus forned are mounted the grooved bearin blocks 16 adapted to receive balls or ro ers- 17, the upper portions Sof whichvextend into the grooved bearing blocks 18 that are secured to the under. face of the carriage 10. v Any suitable means might be employed for imparting a progressive vibratory movement to the deck, and 'a simple construction to this endis shownV in Fig. 1, and consists of the voperating cable 19 which serves to yieldingly move the deck in a right-hand direction, while the deck is pulled in a lefthand direction by the power actuated cable 20.

One end of the operating cable19 is' secured to a threaded ipe or the like 21 which is adjustably securediby nuts. 22 to a bracket 23 rigidly secured to the carriage 10. An intermediate portion of this cable passes around a grooved sheave 24 supported by the transversely extending shaft25, andthe i lowerend of the cable v19 is connected to l y a spring 26 that exerts a continuous downwardl pull upon the cable. L

The cable 2 0 has one end rigidly to a pipe or tube 27 that is adjustablyi vse-l cured to a bracket 28-fastened, to the under side of the carriage 10, and the adjacent ends of the pipes 21 and 27 are preferably connected by a turn buckle 2)., J.Aninterme diate `portion of the cable 20 extends around a `grooved sheavejSQmounted/ upcn a shaft portion o f the cable' extending'.

31,and the from'the lower` side of thes'heave 30 is bent around a grooved sheave' 32 and the'lower end of tlns cable is anchoredfto the supporting frame by the adjustable` means 33.

The -sheave 32 is mounted on an eccentric carriage 10 by a row of secured .wardly under the mass of tailings,

34 which is rigidl secured to the power driven shaft35. 'he' arrangement is such that rotation of the power shaft will turn the eccentric within the-sheave 32 to move the latter throu l1' an orbital path to thereby tension vand slac ol the cable '20. This will serve to move the deck back and forth in the well known manner, and b varying the tension of the spring 26 t e progressive f movement imparted to the deck may be made asenergetic as desired. j

The materials tobe treated are delivered to the deck surface 36 by the hopper''? having the'adjustable gate 38 for controlling the flow of the materials to the deck surface. Air under pressure ma be supplied to the chamber 39h/slow the eck surface by a fan 40. The upper side of the deck is provided with the concentrate wall 41 which is provided with the usual buffer blocks 42 against which the concentrates are directed by the rimes-43, and an inclined vsall 44 is preferably` rovided and extends downwardly from the eed hopper to the lower side of the deck, as shown.

As above stated, an im ortant feature of the present invention resides in the construction wherebya pan o r basin is formed along thek lower side of the deck-supporting surface so that the tailings are confined in this basin until the line 'concentrates suspended in the tailings are given an op ortunity tol settlef The basin or pan Amay e variously constructed so that it will `confine a rela-v tively large amount of 'tailings throughout the operatlon of the concentrator, and inthewhich constitutes a retaining wall a ainst which the tailings may pile up, as c early shown in Figs. 3 and 3.

The result of theconstruction just de scribed is such that as the tailings ilow transversely across the deck over the rilles 43 they" will pile up `against the wall 45, and while resting against this wall they will undergo a panning action due to the ,vibratory movement imparted to lthe deck and this will cause the smallconcentrates susllO lll5

pended within `the .tailings to work down i :reaching the deck surface they will be di-A rected out from under .the mass of'tailin s ytoward'sthe upper side of the deck by t e inclined riflles 43; The bed of tailings retained in -the basin preferably has a depth several' times as great as the height of the rifiles extending across the basin, as will be applrent from Fig.- 3 and'Fig. 3, and

the ri es may be completely buried under the bank of-materials for .a distance morethan halfway up the inclined deck asA shown. It will'therefore be seen` that the panning and upon I upon a relatively long narrow deck. rlhis 4construction is desirable in order that the retaining wall 45 may extend a sufficient distance along the lower side of the deck to form a long pan or basin which will give deck, preferably slopes downwardly as.

the concentrates ample opportunity to settle outof the tailings before the latter are permitted to escape from the basin. A long narrow` deck is further desirable since it Causes the bank of tailings resting, against the Wall 45 to extend laterally over the deck surface a. substantial distance so that a largo portion of the deck surface is-r covered by a relatively thick bank of tailings. This it is found stabilizes the action of concentrating 0r stratifying the materials, and as a result materials varying in size throughout a wide range may be thoroughly classified upon a long narrow deck having the panning construction of the present invention. Furthermore the transverse inclination imparted to the deck, surface vdoes not need tobe adjusted with-the same degree of care which has been necessaryheretofore, since the bank of tailingsl extending laterally over the deck surface renders the ymaterials less. sensitive to changes in the transverse inclination ofthe deck than heretofore.

It may be desirable to prevent the forma-l tion ofV a relatively deep pocket adjacent the tailing retaining wall 45. This is ac complished 'by bending a portion of the deck 36 l ing adjacent the wall 45 upward ly, as in icatedby 46 in Fig. 3, instead of continuing the slope of the deck to the wall 45 as in Fig. 3, but in either case the riflies 43 should ,extend across the basin formed at uthe lower side Iof the deck so that they will direct the concentrates out of this basin towards the concentrate wall.

After the tailings have traveled a sulficient distance along the retaining wall 45 to give the concentrates suspended therein ample time to settle, they are. permitted to escape from the discharge end of the wall 4 5 intoa tailing receiving trough 47, and the discharge end portion of' the wall 45 is preferably tapered as at 48, whereby the -materials piled :up against this wall are caused to flow gradually over such tapered portion 48. The portion of. the concentrate wall disposed near the discharge end-of the at 49 to thereby increase the number of rifiies that terminate against the' concentrate wall. The concentrates traveling along the concentrate wall may be drawn ofi' through any desired -numberof adjustable gates 50 to fall intoV the concentrate trough 51.

As is preferably employed to promote separation of the materials being treated upon the deck surface and to this end the deck is provided with the air apertures 52 which may be formed only in that portion of the deck lying near the feed hopper, or may extend over substantially the entire deck, as desired.

It is highly desirable to dispose of the large concentrates as promptly as possible so that the remaining portion of the deck may be centrates from the tailings; it-is therefore desirable to use relatively strong air cur-v rents adjacent the feed hopper which will utilized to separate the finer con-- force over the riiiies everything except the l large concentrates.

As above pointed out it is unnecessary to lvary the inclination of the deck to accommodate different grades of materials, since by employing the basin construction described al standard transverse inclination will serve to effect the desired separation of various grades of material. The present construction is therefore peculiarly well adapted for employment in a deck having oppositely inclined or twin deck surfaces as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The concentrate sides of the two decks may lie adjacent each other as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, or the concentrate walls may be disposed at the opposite sides of the deck, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. In the construction shown in Fig. 6 the oppositely inclined deck surfaces 53 are provided `with a common concentrate wall 54 having the buer blocks 55, and if the same mate- 'rials are to be treated upon each of the deckJ surfaces 53, then it is unnecessary to extend the concentrate wall 5 4 throughout the en# tire length of the deck, since there is no ob-v jection to the concentrates -upon the two deck surfaces coming incontact with each other. If, however, materials of di'Eerent grades are treated upon the different deck' surfaces 53 then the feed hopper 56 should be provided with a central partition 57 to prevent mixing of the materials and a continuous wall 54 should be used. The operation of the materials upon each of the decksv 53 shown in Figs. 4 and 6 is substantially the same as described in connection wit Figs. "l, 2 and A3, and the concentrates are drawn off through two or more gates 58 into the concentrate troughs 59, while the tail-u ings, upon escaping from the discharge end 85 im@ the concentrate troughs ce. Tte

tailings that accumulate along the central portion of the f 'double deckxconstruction travel lengthwiseof the deck until theyescape into the tailing receivin and it willbe understood that e thi lay# 'ers4 of tailings traveling along the central portion of the twin deck` construction of Fig. 5 undergo the-panning action above dethe mass of 'tai ingstowards the concentrate walls.

In' somecases itfi'desirableV to f,

Van in wli'ich a eeplayer of tailings is -con-A the coarse and fine .v alues travelinga'long the riiles so thatthe coarse values may be removed from the deck-while the line values iding riles by the `skimmer 68 ,andf by t e guide wall 71. As a result of theare permitted' to remain to underg'offurther treatment. A good practical construction tof this end isshown in Figs. 8 to 11 .inclusive wherein the skimmer 68 is shown' as secured" to a rilliell?)` adjacent a ga 69 in the riilie. The scraper 68 has a beve ed' lower face .70

which is supported in spaced relation to the deck surface 36 and as a result-the line con: 4centrates are permitted to pass under the beveled edge 70 of the skimmer to flow laterally across the deck under the influence ofits transverse inclination, while thecoarser concentrates which fail to passy under the the construction just described they lar econcentrates will bej directedtowa'rds t e concentrate discharge openin vv"72 having-the adjustable gatek() while t e. tailing`s'- which escape under theskimmer will remain upon the deck-"surface for further treatment. It

will be apparent that a deck may be provided with any number'of the skimmers 68 ust de- I extending over the deck surface to direct the lconcentratesftoward the upper side of the' scribed, and that one may'be provi ed ad: jacent4 each discharge gate 50,. orifdesired they may beprovi ed even .where thegdis charge gates are notused; in which case they will serve to retard. or holdfback `theguiarse concentrates, while permitting the, iie "concentrates to escape from one Ari/llle totheneixt for further treatment. A concentratorfdeck when constructed in accordancel with -the .present ,invention not' .-only removes thel concentrates more zcom!" pletely than heretofore bysubjecting the.

`materials 'fva'rjl'i'ng throughout' va wide :ran e in may betreated upon the deck att e 'sauiftinie with excellent results. fllurthermore-fit ;isgtunnecessary. to changezthe transiverse inclination v'of :the deck totaccoinmodate dierent eizelmaterialsf 'and "the deckis easier trou h 67,'

,transversely ed at :a transverse inclination and. which' isv adapted tobe vibrated in the direction of .its length to -.advance. the materials len ofthe deck, riiiles extending diagona ly over thedeck surfacesjto direct the concentrates Y toward-.the ulgxpein? sidel oi the deck, and a 'matenial-retaimnlgizwll extending. a substantial distance alongthe -lower side-.of the deck Sand' ''consti'.notedv to form a.y concentrate set# tling' basin alon ythe'lower side olf` the deckf iin-e while they are subjected toa panning operat1on,.s a1 d.wall being .arranged so that it aandelen-gewiss .of the deck and dees not s lope down theinclined deck.

. '2.,A concentrator deck, comprising in combination, adeckfs'urface-that is supported ata transverse inclination and for vibration in the'direction of its llength to advance the materials' lengthwise of the `deck andl I which is provided wit h a concentrate Vsettling basin extending along the Alower side fof the deckand constructed to conline the tailings a deep=layenwhile they travel la substantial distance along the lower side of extend lengthwise of the deck in substan; tially a horizontal plane so that it does not slope' down the inclined rtoward the other. l

3. Aj ooncentrator deck, comprising in combination, a deck surface that is support-v ed` at a transverse inclination, linclined riiiles deck, means for' vibrating the deck in the ico deck from one end vv1-10 v stru'cted to provide a concentrate .settling vbasin upon the' deck surface that extends a substantial distance alongthe lower side of Afti'ie deckin the direction of the deck move-- iis ment-so that 'it does notv slope downthe ing 'aving a depth several times as great as \th'e` heiglit of the riiiles extending. across the basin so that the materials in the basin will vbe subjected'to 4a panning action.-

` 4. AL concentrator deck, comprising in inclined .deck surface and "ada ted to retain in the basin a bedv of tail- 1 tion near its discharge end and which is ,supported at a' transverse inclination and for movement in they direction of its length .to advance materials lengthwise of the deck, riiiles 'extending diagonally over the `deck surface to direct concentrates toward the upper side of the taining wall extending along the lower side of the deck and arranged'to form upon the lower portion of the deck surface a concentrate settling basin that extends lengthwise of the deck to a position near the discharge end `thereof and in which the tailings are subjected to a panning action, said wall being arranged to extend lengthwise of the lower side Aof the deck so that it doesjnot slope down the linclined deck'. l

5. A concentrator deck, comprising in 7 combination, a deck surface that is supportr,ed at a transverse inclination,

riliies extend- .ing lover the deck surface to direct the concentrates towvard the upper side of the'deck,

wall extending along a material retaming deck and constructed the lower side of the "to confine the tailings and to 'form a concentrate settling basln along the lower side ofthe deck, and the deck surface lying adjacent said wall angle to the 'remaining portion of the deck'v vsurface to decrease the depth of the tailings adjacent said wall;

6. A concentrator deck, comprising in combination, a 'deck surface that is supportled at a transverse inclination and for v1- brato'ry'movement in the direction ofA its length to advance the materials lengthwise^ of the deck, riles extending. diagonally over the deck surface to direct the concentrates toward` the upper side of the deck, a mate-l rial retaining wall extending a substantial distance along the lower sideof the deck' surface and constructed to conne the tail- -ings and to form a concentrate settling basin alon the lower side of fthe deck, and 1n whic the materials are subjected to a panning action, and said wall being arranged so that it extends lengthwise o the deck, but doesnot slope downthe inclined deck and the-height of which is gradually decreased in the direction of its discharge en d.

trates traveling along the riflies, and skimmers supported in spaced relation to the deck How laterally down u rvent the coarse concentrates fromfflowing surface adjacent sald cut-away portions and adapted to permit the ine concentrates to `the deckvwhile they p rewith the line concentrates.

laterally 8. A. concentrator deck, comprising in` combination, a deck surface that is supported deck, and a material re-v being bent upwardly at an terial retaining wall upon the deck a under which the riiiles are completely buriedv vtoward the 'upper to a panning action,

at a transverse inclination' and having a concentrate wall extending along the upper side f of the deck, rifies extending over theV deck Asurface toward-the concentrate wall, means for discharging 4the concentrates from Vthe vdeck at a point along the concentrate wall,'

and a vskimmer associated with one of the riiies for directing the coarse concentrates toward the discharge means while permitting the fine concentrates ritiles laterally down the deck. y

'9.A conccntrator deck, comprising in combination, a deck surfaceihat is supported `at a transversejinclination and having .a concentrate wall extending along the to escape from the' upper sideof the deck, riliies extending over the concentrate wall the deck surface toward and a skimmer associated with one ofthe l ritiiesand supported in spaced relation to the deck so ythatit separates the coarse fine concentrates. l

10. A concentrator deck, comprising in combination, a long narrow deck surface that is supported at a transverse inclination and for vibra-tory movement in the-direction ofits length to advance wise of the deck, riiiiesA extending diagonally over the deck surface to direct concentrates toward the upper side of the deck a maextending va substantia from the l the materials lengthdistance along the lower side .of the' deck in the direction of the deck movement so that it does notslope downthe transversely inclined deck surface and arranged to retain thick layer of materials for a distance more than half-way 4up themclined deck surface, and means for vibrating the deck'to subject the materials piled up against said wallto a ,panning-operation tov work the values down .through the materials' into engagement with the rililes. 4

11.. A `concen'trator deck, comprising `in combination, an apertured deck surface that is supported at a transverse inclination an its length, riies extendingdiagonally over the deckv surface-to ldirect theconcentrates side ofthe deck, a material retaining wallextending a substantial distance along the lower si de of the deck in.

d A11o for vibratory movement in the directionof the direction of the deck movement so that itA y does not slope down the transversely inclined deck surface Vand arranged to retainupon the deck a thick layer of aterials, mensfor vibrating the deck to advance the materials along `the deck bank of materials piled :11p-against saidwa an air up. through the apertured deck surface surface and to subject the l A means for forcing* and bank of materials `resting thereupon to promote said panning operation.

lIn testimony whereof, I have signed my f name this specication.

ALBEn'rf-H. sTEBBINs. 

